The new puritans: What Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have in commonAn interesting discussion of the tension between the need for showmanship and probity. It turns out to have been written by a biographer of Boris Johnson which probably explains his more than usually sympathetic portrayal of Johnson, but in that regard it is interesting since not many sympathetic discussions of Boris Johnson cross my dashboard - least of all from the New Statesman. That said, I am unconvinced by the idea that sometimes you have to lie to reveal a deeper truth. I'm inclined to think one ought to be able to expose the "deeper truth" without resorting to lies and it is the easy reaching for a convenient lie that is part of what is wrong with political discourse.- - - - -

Donald Trump's polling slump appears to have arrived | The IndependentI have a suspicion that polling in this election is going to be more erratic than is normal in American elections, since the two "sides" are more than normally morally judgemental about each other and that will lead to "shy Tory" effects - though precisely who this will benefit is anyone's guess. In my particular echo chamber you'd be a brave soul to admit to support for Trump, but there may well be large echo chambers in which the reverse is true.- - - - -